Joseph n



J. N. LEROUX.

(No Model.)

GAR GOUPLING. Patented June 30, 1885.

UNITED STATES Pnrnnr trice.

JOSEPH N. LEROUX, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FRANCIS A.VAN AARLE, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of' Letters Patent No. 321,372, dated June30,1885,

Application filed April 30, 1885. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Bc it known that l, J osnrH N. LEROUX, a citizen ofthe United States,residing at Toledo, in theeountyof Lucas and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Gar Couplings, and I dodeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to 1o make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of referencemarked thereon, which forni a part of this speciicationmrw f.

My invention relates to automatic car-couplings in which a hooked linkis engaged by hooks in the draw-head.

The objects of my improvements are, first, to so arrange the hook withreference to the draw-head that the stress exerted on the hook ze shallbe sustained by shoulders in the frame of the draw-head over a broadsurface in any position the hook may be forced by the pull or jarring ofthe cars short of its uneoupling position, and at the same time to allowfor easily coupling automatically without danger of jamming; second, toprovide a means for uncoupliug by hand; third, to provide axnea-ns forautomatically holding the link in a horizent-al position for enteringthe cavity of the 3o opposite draw-head; fourth, in my automaticcar-coupling to provide for coupling with a pin and elliptical link, inthe usual manner. I attain these objects by the means illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which* 3.5 Figure l is a top view of theentire drawhead. Fig. 2 is a section through the drawhead,with themovable parts removed. Fig. 3 is a vertical projection of theeoupling,with the side of the draw-head frame removed,

4e showing the hooked link held in position for entering the cavityofthe opposite draw-head. Fig. 4 is a vertical projection of thecoupling, with the side of the draw-head removed,show ing the manner oi'coupling it with the ordinary pin and elliptical link'. Fig. 5 is an isometric view ofthe couplinghook removed from the draw-head. Fig. 6 is anisometric view of the link used in coupling automatically.

Si milar letters referto similar parts througl1- 5o out the severalviews.

The hook B is made in the form oi' a cross in its horizontal projectionby the shoulders b I), which slide in the slots 7L Il., formed in theframe of the draw-head for that purpose, and is provided with thc sloty, for receiving the pin g, upon which the hook turns, and to pre ventthe stress being communicated from the hook to the pin. The faces cr a;of the shoulders Z1 b are formed in the are of a circle in their sectionparallel to the side of the hook, 6o

y whose center is g. The slots li h in the frame /of the drawhead A areformed to receive the shoulders b b, their forward part forming au arcof a circle whose center is f/, Fig. 2, having the faces of theshoulders V V in the frame A A concave to correspond to the contour ofthe faces x x of the shoulders Z1 b.

By thus forming the hooks and corresponding slots in the frame of thedraw-head A A, the stress upon the hook is transferred by the 7oshoulders bb to the frame of the draw-head at 'u o in any position ofthe hook until it is drawn clear of the frame of the draw-head, and theface YV of the hook B, against which the head of the link strikes forraising the hook in entering the draw-head, can be made rapidlyretreating or inclined to the perpendicular, so that the hook can beeasily raised by the entering head o of the link L, and thus danger ofjamming is avoided. S0

The hook is raised for unc-oupling by the series of connected cranks E DF F D E, forming one bar of iron or other suitable material, as shown inFig. l, turning on the journals D D. The portion F F is hollowed in themid- S5 dle and slides forward and back in the slot C C o n the hook B.By turning the crank E, the

hook B is raised, as shown at B in Fig. 3, al-

lowing the link to be withdrawn from the draw-head. The portion D Fshould be long enough to raise the hook clear of the drawhead withoutturning it into a position that would prevent the link from returninginto the draw-head.

The hook B is preferably held down by a spring, G, but may be forceddown by gravity alone.

The hook B is set back in the frame of the draw-head a sufficientdistance to allow space ahead of it for coupling in the ordinary way rooby the pin P passing through the holes a a, provided for that purpose,and through the elliptical link L, as shown in Fig. 4, thus admitting ofcoupling` with the ordinary draw` head.

The hook B, passing down upon the link L, holds itin a horizontalposition, ready to enter the cavity of the opposite draw-head. The linkL is prevented from entering too far into the draw-head by thecross-piece d d, Fig. 6, the ends of which may also be used as handles.

Having fully described myinvention,whatl desire to claim and secure byLetters Patent 1s- 1. The hook B, having the shoulders Z) Z), with facesx x, curved in the arc of a circle, whose center is the point aboutwhich the hook turns, and having the surface NV, against which the linkstrikes in entering the drawhead, rapidly retreating or very nluchinclined to the perpendicular, substantially as shown I and described.

2. The hook B, in combination with the frame A A of the draw-head,having the slots h 7L and shouldersV V, substantially as shown anddescribed.

3. The hook B, having the shoulders b b, inclined face W, and slots y,in combination with the frame of the drawhead A A, having the slots h hand shoulders V V, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The hook B, having the shouldersb b, inclined face W, and slot i,lsubstantially as shown and described.

5. The series of connected cranks consisting of the handles E E,journals D D, Working in suitable bearings, and the portion F F, bent asshown in the drawings, working in the slot G C on the hook B, incombination with the hook B, substantially as and for the purposespeciied.

In testimony whereof I affix my signaturein presence of two Witnesses.

JOSEPH N. LEROUX.

Vitnesses:

FRANK A. VAN AARLE, C. F. FRANCE.

